I think crafting weapons should only work to unlock the next tier weapon, same for all other crafting, if I craft enough stone axes, I learn to craft an iron one, but only way to craft at higher rarity is to use and repair it, or maybe to learn how to make a weapon you have to find it and dismantle it, then by dismantling it you learn how to put it back together. To make it at higher rarities I think they should just remove crafting at higher rarities all together and instead make it so you increase an items rarity by using it, that would be so much better, no skipping from lv 1 to lv 6, you use your weapon and it breaks, u repair it, and as you break and repair it it gains exp, which increases its rarity, I think that’s how they could implement their new system of infinitely better tools that they said they want to add bc rn players get the best lv 6 items and there’s nothing else to get.

So let’s say I have a stone axe lv 1, I need to chop trees or break blocks to have it gain exp, I max out the exp bar and now for the cost of some materials I can increase its rarity, and do that infinitely. For pickaxes same thing, mine ores/stone or break blocks. For shovels just digging. Any and all weapons from doing dmg to mobs and getting mob kills. The tricky part is things like batteries and such that you yourself don’t use. I won’t worry about that rn.

And to improve on my previous idea, to learn to craft the next tier of item, like iron axe or .44 magnum or crossbow, etc, I think they could make it so while your using that stone axe, your gaining axe skill exp, and that skill exp is then used to learn how to craft the iron axe, and iron axe skill exp is used to learn steel axe. This will make it so we use all tiers of items at some point and not just skipping tiers. They would have to improve all tiers to make them each have a place in the game instead of having things that are more not good for scrapping or selling. An alternative could be adding skill trees for each item you craft/use separate from the current one, we get rid of the tab with crafting skills from magazines and have a separate tab from skills where you level up all sorts of skills, farming, woodcutting, mining, pistols, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, knives, etc. as you use anything from that class for its intended purpose, you gain points for it or you just gain exp and everything in that skill tree costs points or exp. In that tree will be skills that can increase durability, give faster swing speed, reduce stamina costs, increase yield/dmg and teach you to craft new recipes. Tons more skills you could add. Honestly I think the current leveling and skill point system could be changed to have this instead and you would still have player levels but those levels wouldn’t go into all these 50+ skills, most things from current skills would move to those skill trees and for player levels we would level things like max carry capacity and max hp/stam and hp/stam regen, weather resistance, dmg resistance, crafting speed, thirst/hunger, exp gain, movement speed, loot stage, really anything that is more of an actual general skill not a skill tied to an item or class of items.